'That hero has fallen so far': Actor Kang Bu-ja laments Hong Myung-bo's attitude at airport

Actor Kang Bu-ja [YouTube channel 'Cheongjamensyon']

Actor Kang Bu-ja, one of the entertainment industry's most well-known soccer fans, has expressed disappointment over the conduct of former South Korea national team head coach Hong Myung-bo.

Kang appeared Thursday in a video titled "Kang Richi's World Cup Tactics Book" on the YouTube channel "Cheongjamensyon," joining commentator Park Moon-sung, Myongji University professor Shin Moon-sun, and broadcasters Alberto and Florian to discuss the North America World Cup.

The national team squad returned home through Incheon International Airport on Monday after being eliminated in the World Cup group stage the previous day.

Commentator Park criticized Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu for arriving separately, 30 minutes after the squad. "Reporters and fans had already left, thinking all the players had come out — and then he snuck out," Park said. "It was so pathetic. That's not how an adult behaves." Park added that while Chung had taken a different flight arriving 30 minutes later, the sight of him hiding among a large entourage after letting the coach and players go out front was "so undignified." He then said, "If this was the worst result in history, the coach or the president should have been bowing their heads in front of everyone — taking the arrows for the players, if nothing else."

Former South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo, who led the team to its worst-ever World Cup result, arrives at Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Monday. [Yonhap]

Kang said she had wanted to go to the airport herself. "I kept thinking the arrival hall would be chaotic, with things flying from all directions — I wanted to go out there and shield the players, or just hug them and tell them they did their best," she said.

But watching the squad emerge, she said she was left disappointed. "When those arrival doors opened, if Hong Myung-bo had shown even a hint of remorse — shed even a single tear — the public would have forgiven him," she said. "Instead, he walked out behind goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo without once lowering his head, just staring into the distance."

Professor Shin said that if he had been running the KFA's administration, he would have waited for President Chung to arrive 30 minutes later so everyone could walk in together, with all KFA board members present, to apologize to the public and take whatever came their way. "But Hong didn't even bow his head on the way out — he put goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo in front of him," Shin said.

Kang also recalled Hong's iconic penalty kick during the quarterfinal shootout against Spain at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. "When I think of Hong Myung-bo, I still picture him pumping his fist after scoring that penalty," she said. "That hero has somehow fallen so far."

Hong Myung-bo walks out with his hands in his pockets after his resignation press conference. [KBS capture]

Hong had already drawn criticism over his conduct at a resignation press conference Sunday. He held the event in Mexico in the early morning hours — when most people in South Korea were asleep — announced his resignation unilaterally, took no questions and left. As he walked out of the press conference room, he had his hands in his pockets.

paq@heraldcorp.com